(An image circa 1995, of protests then regarding potential cuts in the arts at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.)
Yesterday Theatre UAF turned in its 'Special Program Review' paperwork to prevent the BA in theatre - the program in which I have my major - from being eliminated in a funding cut.
Theatre UAF provides more benefits than just 'entertainment', as its classwork helps students develop such skills as teamwork, self-confidence, and analytic thought.
Yes, in candor, this would personally affect me. But it is about much more than that. We appear to live in an era where education in the humanities, and in the arts in particular, seem to be constantly faced by questions of their 'utility'. Education - real, meaningful education - is about more than just training to enter the mass of consuming workers. It is about learning how to think and, perhaps more importantly, learning how you as a person thinks. How *your* mind works. What your 'process' is. That self-reflecting ability is one of the greatest gifts that my classwork with Theatre UAF has given me. And it is an ability that is at the core of the University of Alaska Fairbanks mission.
I believe that theatre coursework has well proven its value. That it is, and can be, “Naturally Inspiring.”And, as such, should remain a component of the academic life of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Please consider supporting the program, via letters to the editor at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and potentially through letters to the university Provost Dr. Susan Henrichs, and to UAF Chancellor Brian Rogers as well.
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My school related fundraising site:
Help Me Continue My Educational Momentum
A portfolio of my various work and projects, both theatrical and otherwise.
My general, rather eclectic, Tumblr:
Semi-Random Shavings
